


Northern Lights: The 13th Hunger Games

by MoonlightSalsa



Series: The Victor With 23 Faces [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Crossdressing, Drabbles, Gen, new story format im trying out haha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26987533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightSalsa/pseuds/MoonlightSalsa
Summary: To his district, he was a nobody. To himself, he was somebody.(Told entirely in drabbles.)
Series: The Victor With 23 Faces [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692511
Comments: 20
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Twelve years of the Hunger Games had passed, and District Five only had one Victor to show for it. Compared to One and Two and their numbers, it was pathetic. Laughable. 

The fact that their lone Victor was already a pathetic and laughable person herself certainly did not help manners. She was so frail, so weak-willed, it was nothing short of a miracle she survived. 

But, people kept telling themselves reassuringly, if she won, then so could anyone else. 

The bar was set pretty low. Surely anyone could jump victoriously over it. 

And yet four more failed to do so.


	2. Chapter 2

He didn't know why he did it for so long, only that it gave him a thrilling sense of identity that many thought he lacked. 

Walking past his schoolmates in his new outfit that rendered him unrecognizable and watching the lustful expressions on their faces always made him want to burst out laughing. 

They're attracted to the same person they mocked for being boring and braindead! 

He never intentionally set out to deceive them, but that's always what ended up happening. 

But a small part of him wondered if maybe they deserved to be deceived. 

Did they? Did they really?


	3. Chapter 3

When the pink-and-purple escort read out his name, time stood still. He suddenly became aware of every movement those around him made: every flicker of their eyes in his direction. 

They were probably glad, he thought. Not just because it wasn't their name that was called out, but because at least it was the uninteresting guy with absolutely no usefulness whatsoever who's going. 

At least productivity wouldn't be slowed down. 

Even his sister seemed relieved. He knew how much Indy wanted to be independent without her little brother to babysit. 

No one would miss him. That scared him the most.


	4. Chapter 4

When night fell, he was still awake. Not because he couldn't sleep, but because nighttime was his favourite part of any day. 

Nights were when he was most active. He'd dress up, grab the little spending money he’d saved, and head into town. He'd smell the smoky air, look at the bright lights all around him, and walk confidently into the nearest bar or club. 

Nighttime made him feel more special, more grown-up. 

He couldn't do any of that on the train, however. Instead, he set out an array of desserts, settled on the couch, and turned on the television.


	5. Chapter 5

None of the other tributes wanted anything to do with him. The trained ones from One and Two smirked at him. The rest simply brushed him off, even his own district partner. When he talked about allying, she turned up her nose and stalked off. 

The message couldn't have been clearer: no one wants the skinny, dim-witted, effeminate boy from the wrong side of the tracks for an ally. 

Although it hurt to know how little they thought of him, it wasn't so bad. After all, he'd always been better when he worked by himself. 

It wasn't a big deal.


	6. Chapter 6

His interview practically bored the Capitol audience. He knew this because he heard several people snoring loudly - or at least pretending to. Either way, it was still pretty bad. 

Atticus Wolffe seemed at a loss. He could usually make any tribute at least mildly entertaining, but he had his hands full with this one. No matter what, he just couldn't draw an interesting response out of him. 

It was because he didn't see the need to broadcast his personal business to the entire country. 

Plus, being forgotten by everyone else had worked out for several tributes in the Games before.


	7. Chapter 7

On his last night in the Capitol, he found his thoughts returning to District Five. To the rundown house he shared with his sister. To the badly weathered gravestones of his parents. To the dull grey power plants that constantly loomed on the smoggy horizon. 

He thought of how his schoolmates and teachers constantly looked down on him for being a cretin. How even his own sister treated him like a burden, an unwanted pet. 

He gripped his pillow tightly. Tomorrow, he'll show them that he’s not as useless as they make him out to be. He’ll show them all.


	8. Chapter 8

He survived the bloodbath, mostly due to the fact he used the Six girl as a shield against the Two boy. He didn't like it, but he knew he had to if he was going to win the Games. 

Plus, the fact that he'd overhead the girl call him a “weird fucking loser” during training helped him justify it, even a little, in his mind. 

His district partner was easier to justify. She had treated him like he was diseased, so he had no qualms about kicking her to the ground and leaving her for someone else to finish off.


	9. Chapter 9

After running for a long while, he eventually came across a little dome-shaped building made from what appeared to be packed-down blocks of snow. He didn't hesitate before crawling inside, desperate to get away from the biting wind. 

Inside, he found a sleeping mat made from some sort of animal skin. But it was very cozy, and he was grateful for his find. He got himself comfortable and went to sleep surprisingly quickly. 

As he slept, he missed the anthem and the Capitol seal, and the shining faces of eight tributes, including his pompous, spoiled district partner. 

He slept soundly.


	10. Chapter 10

Early the next morning, he was woken up by the sounds of footsteps crunching on the snow outside. He quietly got out of the sleeping mat and crouched down, fists clenched. 

When the tribute crawled into the ice-hut, he was ready. 

They fought and punched and kicked and rolled on the ground until he got the upper hand and stomped on her throat until she gave one final twitch and lay still, the cannon booming through the morning air. 

He heard a familiar beeping and went outside to collect the parachute. Inside the canister was a warm serving of soup.


	11. Chapter 11

Two days passed with no activity. Apart from receiving another parachute, this one containing a stew and bread, he spent the days huddled inside his sleeping mat, desperately trying to rid himself of the chill that had settled in his bones. 

There was nothing more he could do. There was no wood around to make a fire. Just an endless expanse of sharp, stinging white for as far as the eye could see. 

He clasped his hands together inside his pockets, trying to warm them up. His teeth chattered loudly. His insulated tribute outfit was doing little to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the books Katniss mentions there was one year where all the tributes froze to death because there wasn't any wood to make fires. From the way she talk about it, it seems fairly recent, but to be honest I think this is a mistake that would have been realized much sooner, hence why I've written about it here. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the story so far!


	12. Chapter 12

He was outside, looking out for any sign of life, when he heard a shout from his left. He turned to see the girl from One barreling in his direction, sword in hand. 

He ran away in the opposite direction, knowing he was no match for a sword. 

He made it to a particularly icy area and treaded carefully, not wanting to slip. A deafening crack, followed by a shrill scream, caused him to turn around. 

The girl was bobbing in the hole, trying to claw her way out. 

He calmly walked over and picked up her fallen sword. 

Then…


	13. Chapter 13

When all was said and done, he washed the blood off the sword in the water in the hole and returned to his little ice-hut. 

He was then treated to yet another parachute. Inside was enough food to keep him going for another day, as well as a pair of mittens. 

He smiled grimly to himself. He'd grabbed nothing during the bloodbath, so these sponsorships, a reward for his killing, was all that was keeping him alive. 

That day, another two cannons sounded, raising the death toll to twenty. He almost envied them, for being unable to feel cold anymore.


	14. Chapter 14

Despite the thick materials of his clothing, he was shivering violently. No matter what he did, he just could not stay warm. The cold was always there to stay. 

His sleeping mat provided little comfort anymore. It was as icy as everything else in this damned arena. 

Outside, the wind whistled ferociously. Its screaming echoed out across the barren tundra. It whipped and thrashed at everything that could be whipped and thrashed. 

The night passed by, as black as could be, if not for the beautiful wavy lights overhead; green, blue, purple. They went unnoticed by the four remaining tributes.


	15. Chapter 15

It became painfully obvious to everybody watching that there would be no grand finale, like there had been in years prior. The tributes were simply too cold and weak to fight properly. Instead, it became a matter of who would stay alive the longest. 

And it was such that, over the next day and night, three more tributes succumbed to the arena’s frozen grip. 

He did not, but he came very close. 

He had felt a strange, sudden burst of warmth, and was fumbling to get his clothes off when the trumpeted announcement rang out that he was the Victor.


	16. Chapter 16

He was kept under for several days, in order to let his body recover the warmth it had lost. During that time, his mentor sat by his side and stroked his icy hand comfortingly. 

She was so glad to have her first successful mentorship. She finally had someone to talk to about the true horrors that no one else could really relate to. 

When he finally surfaced and found that he now had only seven and a half fingers and eight toes instead of ten, he screamed long and loud, until the doctors rushed in and put him under again.


	17. Chapter 17

The train ride home was quiet. His mentor knew to give him space, but also knew when to rush to his side if need be. 

“Everything's okay,” she whispered into his hair when she hugged him after a nightmare, “you're not in the arena anymore. Everything's going to be alright.” 

District Five was equally glad to have another Victor. So much so that those who knew him personally behaved as though they had believed in him all along. 

Only now, now that he had found success in the form of Victor’s winnings, could he be considered one of their own.


	18. Chapter 18

When the time came for him to move to the Victor’s Village, his sister had her bags packed. 

“Not so fast,” he said, “I'm going. Not you. You're staying here. This is your house now.” 

Indy gaped at him. “But I'm your sister! I took care of you!” 

“You only took care of me because you had an obligation to. I know for a fact that you would have handed me off to the orphanage if you could.” 

Indy blinked at him. 

“I know you never really cared about me. I'm not stupid, you know.” 

And with that, he left.


	19. Chapter 19

The last picture taken of his parents had a proud place front and centre on his mantelpiece. Many times he would stop by and look at the kind faces of the people taken away from the world much too soon. 

He liked to believe they were proud of him. He had survived a literal hell on earth, after all. 

Hell wasn't made of fire, but rather endless sheets of ice and wind. 

Although he was all alone in his massive house, he never felt alone. His parents were always there, too. Still watching over their son. Still caring for him.


	20. Chapter 20

With his newfound wealth, he found it easy to properly invest in his hobby. Before long, his wardrobes were full to bursting with brand-new clothes. 

Despite what people might think if they found out, he didn't do it because he thought he should be a woman. No. He did it because he liked dressing up in women’s clothes. Women’s clothes were nice. More interesting than men's clothes. He liked dressing up like that. 

The idea of hiding his true identity brought a little excitement into his life. 

It made it easy to pretend that he wasn't a Victor at all.


	21. Chapter 21

Mara Watts proved you didn't have to be physically strong to win the Hunger Games. Isaac Frey proved you didn't need book-smarts to win, either. 

They won because they were strong and smart in their own ways. 

Mara didn't have brute strength, but she was a great, nimble climber. Isaac never did well in school, but he was very street-smart and self-aware. 

But District Five didn't support those qualities. They needed physically strong and incredibly brainy people to work and maintain the factories. It wasn't an easy job, after all. 

But the two Victors still succeeded, in their own ways.


End file.
